In May 2022, a popular teacher and girls soccer coach at Grossmont High School emailed his principal, seeking the day off from overseeing end-of-year senior testing.
Settlement in Jane Doe case. (PDF)“Given the false accusations against me, should I take Thursday off?” John Neill wrote Principal Dan Barnes, noting that the chances of seeing a girl accusing him of sexual misconduct were 1-in-532 but realizing “it could happen and trigger her.”
That note, obtained under a public-records act request, came six days after the Grossmont Union High School District rejected a tort claim by attorneys representing a female student alleging Neill sexually battered her.
In March 2023, attorneys Dan Gilleon and Samuel A. Clemens filed an amended lawsuit on behalf of their unnamed client — Jane Doe — alleging that Neill in October 2021 reached under her waist band, touching her skin and pressing his body up against her from behind.
“Neill also looked down Doe’s top and made a sexually charged comment about her appearance, stating that she was ‘showing,’ bringing attention to Plaintiff’s breasts and cleavage,” said the complaint. “Neill then whispered more sexually charged comment’s about Doe’s breasts into her ear, and added that he ‘loved’ her and wanted to know if Doe knew this.”
Neill was in his last days as a teacher at Grossmont, having decided to retire after 24 years at the century-old school straddling La Mesa and El Cajon.
They also were the last days of his life.
John Neill email to Principal Dan Barnes.Neill died Sept. 10, 2022 — days after what Barnes described as a “very serious stroke.”
So when Jane Doe first filed suit — Oct. 28, 2022 — it was against the school district and not Neill.
A revised suit, filed against the district and 20 unnamed defendants, alleged sexual battery, negligent supervision and discrimination based on sex. It called for special and general damages, civil penalties and attorneys fees, among other things.
Jury trial awaited in 2025
At one time, a jury trial was scheduled for late January 2025 before Judge Richard S. Whitney in downtown San Diego Superior Court.
The school district — fending off other lawsuits involving sexual misconduct — filed a request to dismiss the suit, and answered the Jane Doe complaint March 30, 2023 .
Legal filings in Jane Doe lawsuit against the Grossmont Union High School District. (PDF)But 19 months later — in November 2024 — the East County school district settled with Jane Doe. Its nearly 2,000-word “Release and Settlement Agreement” said the district would pay $100,000, “with each party … responsible for their own expenses, costs and attorneys fees.”
Further, the deal “constitutes a compromise of disputed claims and is not to be construed as an admission of liability on the part of any party.”
Responding to another public-records request, Grossmont officials said litigation cost the district an additional $107,509.42.
(But Music Watson, chief of staff at the San Diego County Office of Education, told me: “We ran [the] amount paid to the attorney in this case and got $101,672.54.” The district has yet to explain the discrepancy.)
The settlement came in the wake of Doe attorney Gilleon’s motion — granted by the judge — calling on the district to release any documents showing student complaints against Neill before the Jane Doe incident. (The docs were redacted to protect student privacy.)
On Wednesday, via email, Gilleon said no records were specifically about sexual misconduct.
“There were several complaints about him engaging in conversations inappropriate for the classroom that made some students feel uncomfortable and ask to be transferred out,” he said. “To the best my recollection, I would describe them as misogynistic and political (read conservative). He also had a Nazi flag in his classroom.”
In fact, Gilleon filed with the court an email sent by substitute teacher Kaylee Montesanto to Principal Barnes and Laura Whitaker, district director of human resources.
‘You’re a pretty girl’
On May 6, 2022, Montesanto wrote that while filling in for Neill, she received “disturbing” reports from students.
“Students, nearly 20 of them, were telling me of the inappropriate comments that Mr. Neill has made towards both male and female students. To female students, he has reportedly said things such as ‘Your hair looks very attractive today,’ and ‘You’re a pretty girl,’ and “You look really good today.’
“Towards the whole class he has made comments such as ‘I have videos of my old students twerking’ and ‘I have a very attractive class.’ Female students have reported him sliding his hands down their shoulders when they had asked to go to the bathroom, saying ‘Of course you can go any time.’ To male students, he was reported as saying, ‘If you cheat on your test, you’ll cheat on your wife … never date this guy!'”
Representing the district was Jennifer S. Creighton, who originally listed 32 defenses.
Before the settlement, she denied the injuries claimed by Doe, who her attorneys identified as a special-needs student.
Creighton also said Doe “failed to exhaust all administrative remedies prior to filing suit” and her “conduct rather than conduct of the Defendant proximately caused the losses alleged as [Doe] failed to exercise reasonable care and diligence to avoid loss and avoid damages incurred, if any, as a result of the events alleged.”
Skyline Church services for Neill. Email from CPRA request.Email from CPRA request.The school district lawyer also conceded that Neill might have been guilty of the harm alleged.
“The acts alleged against John Neill were intentional acts by him, outside the course and scope of his employment, and do not subject this answering Defendant to vicarious liability,” Creighton said in a 10-page “answer” to the suit.
“Plaintiffs cannot establish knowledge of actions by John Neill [or] by any individual employee of the District other than John Neill.”
No district employees had reasonable suspicion that Doe was subject to child abuse or had suffered any injury or incident that would trigger their mandated reporting obligations, she wrote.
Government immunity cited
And she invoked a defense used by public agencies — “that the claims asserted by Plaintiff against this answering Defendant are barred by the doctrine of government immunity.”
Gilleon, in 2023, scoffed at the immunity argument, which he called “a boilerplate provision in all answers the firm files.”
Selected court filings in Jane Doe case. (PDF)He added: “Sexual molestation of kids is specifically excluded from the [requirement] to file a tort claim, but we normally do it anyway. We’ve complied with the Tort Claims Act,” a law enacted by the state Legislature with the intent to protect state agencies from liability in certain personal injury cases.
According to the national Shouse Injury Law Group, the California Tory Claims Act allows the government to be held liable in limited circumstances.
“These provisions include premises liability where the government had notice of the dangerous condition, or where the government is vicariously liable for the negligence of an employee,” the law firm said.
The 10-page lawsuit says that Doe was in Neill’s government class and also served as a student aide in his third-period class.
“As a student assistant, Plaintiff developed a relationship of trust with Neill,” the suit says. “Plaintiff looked up to Neill as a mentor and confided in him certain personal matters in her life.”
The day Neill allegedly groped Doe, she said she started to move away from Neill and “as she did, Neill slapped Doe’s buttocks twice. Doe left the classroom and was noticeably scared and upset. She immediately reported the incident to the school staff and administration.”
The suit says Doe told her father and the district conducted a brief investigation, suspending Neill for one week. Then Neill was allowed to return to the classroom for the rest of the academic year.
“By doing so,” Doe’s suit said, “GUHSD ratified Neill’s egregious sexual and criminal misconduct and also discriminated against and deprived Doe of her constitutional right to an education, in deliberate indifference to her rights and safety.”
Despite what Neill said about the girl possibly showing up for May testing, the suit said: “Doe didn’t return to school after this incident and was forced to complete her senior year at home for the remaining eight months of the academic school year.”
Without giving details, the suit also said Neill would frequently stare at female students, make inappropriate comments about their appearance and “touched other female students in a sexually inappropriate manner — and the school and school district knew or should have known about these incidents.”
Doe now suffers “great pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life,” the suit said, adding that she “continues to suffer spiritually” and will “continue to incur expenses for medical and psychological treatment, therapy and counseling.”
Heartwarming tributes to Neill
All of this would apparently be a shock to many former students and their families — with dozens posting heartwarming thanks on Facebook for Neill’s positive impact on their lives.
Upon his retirement, one mother wrote: “I thank God you were at Grossmont when my daughter was there. You gave discerning wisdom, council, care/concern, comfort, confidence, and so much more, than any teacher she’d ever had… You were an adult friend she trusted, and looked up to.”
She said Neill presided over the marriage of her daughter and her high school sweetheart — “who you also taught.”
A female student wrote: “You were an awesome coach and history teacher! Honestly you were one of my 2 favorite history teachers ever, and you made that class so much fun!”
Another parent wrote Neill “has been a tremendous asset to Grossmont High. Most of all he is a fine example of a dedicated teacher who models traditional values and puts the student first. Enjoy your beautiful family and continue to know you continue to make a world better place as your former students carry skills, talents and values instilled in no small part by your influence.”
And congrats were added by another man: “You should take tremendous pride in the positive role you’ve played in the lives of countless students (and athletes!) over the years. Nothing but love to you and Margie as you start the next chapter in your lives!”
(Neill’s widow, Margie, didn’t respond to Times of San Diego requests for comment on the settlement .)
Neill’s well-attended funeral was held at Skyline Church on Sept. 25, 2022 — the day he would have turned 65.
“Attire is open to whatever you feel most comfortable in, but kilts are encouraged!” said an online invitation. “In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Educate for Life on John’s behalf.”
According to an email he sent to his former principal, now retired schools Superintendent Theresa Kemper, Neill recalled that he began his “GUHSD experience” with a request that he run for school board.
“Felt God saying go teacher first,” he wrote. “Prisscilla Schrieber [sic] replaced me in that run. I have been asked to consider running again in 2024.”
In 2023, former school board member Schreiber told me: “While I was friends with many who knew John, my friendship was not as close as theirs. … I think I spoke to him on a couple of educational matters and maybe years ago when he was asked and considering a run for the school board. I was sad to hear of his passing and extended my prayers to his family through a Facebook post.”
In 2011, freelance writer Doug Williams — former sports editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune — profiled Neill for La Mesa Patch, the hyperlocal site I ran: “When students don’t turn in their homework or complete a project on time, he’ll hand them a pink slip. They’ve been fired. And their parents have to sign it.”
He quoted El Cajon resident Neill as saying: “In the real world, the boss doesn’t care. He expects you to do your job. So I take that into my classroom.”
Neil posted “Mr. Neill’s Rules” for both life and class.
“He spells out his expectations and boundaries, then allows students to make their own choices and learn the consequences,” Williams wrote, describing how Neill spent 24 years in real estate.
Besides teaching U.S. and world history and AP art history at Grossmont, he also coached girls soccer, lacrosse and golf.
Williams wrote that Neill called himself “an old guy who’s a new teacher,” with high expectations for his students.
“Ultimately in my mind, it’s not what I teach the kids, but how I teach them to think,” he says. “And if I can get them to think, it’s irrelevant what they learn, because they can learn anything once they learn how to think.”
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